lanthanide contraction

Question

Lanthanide contraction is responsible for:

RankGuru · Accepted Answer

**Lanthanide Contraction** is the steady decrease in the size of atoms/ions of lanthanide elements from $La$ to $Lu$.
- It is caused by the **poor shielding** of the nuclear charge by $4f$ electrons.
- A major consequence is that elements following the lanthanides (in the 3rd transition series) have atomic radii almost identical to their congeners in the 2nd transition series.
- Example: **Zirconium ($Zr$)** and **Hafnium ($Hf$)** have nearly identical radii ($\approx 160 	ext{ pm}$), making them very similar in chemical properties.

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lanthanide contraction

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More lanthanide contraction Practice Questions

Lanthanide contraction results in:

Lanthanide contraction chiefly causes which pair of 4d/5d elements to have similar radii?